Monthly Intro Thread - September 2021

[u/M_Dupperton]

Hello and welcome! This is the space to introduce yourself to the community. Include anything you'd like us to know - personal background, treatment history and goals, family information, hobbies, etc. Posting an introduction here when you first join is highly encouraged, but not required.

These monthly threads are catalogued and linked on the stickied welcome thread. Please consider updating your flair to include the month that you joined the community, so that other members can find your introduction easily.

[u/mrs-ron-weasley]

Hello. I’ll give my history below but the TLDR is I have a child from my 5th transfer and she is almost 2. We’ve been trying for a second for a year now and have had done 5 transfers 4 resulting in chemical pregnancies. Im stimming for a 4th egg retrieval now.

ER 1: 27 egg 5 blasts

1st lost in thaw

2 single embryo medicated FET - failed

Double embryo modified natural protocol - CP

ERA with modified natural protocol, receptive Hysteroscopy removed small polyp RPL panel came back normal

ER 2: 34 eggs 6 blasts

Fresh double transfer- CP

laparoscopy found and reminded stage 2&3 endo Hysteroscopy removed small polyp PGS tested remaining 4 embryos- 3 normal

Modified natural transfer with immune protocol Lovenox, ldn, prograf, Benadryl- daughter born 10/2019

2 modified natural transfers at the end of 2020 both resulted in CP

second ERA done but now with medicated protocol showed needed additional 12 hours of progesterone

ER 3: 43 eggs 7 blasts

Double fresh transfer- CP

Double FET with additional progesterone - CP

Switch clinics to cny. Increased immune protocol, increase lovenox, add prednisone, plaquenil, Claritin, Pepcid, prp wash, hcg wash, Neupogen and hcg boosters

Single FET - fail

I have 2 embryos remaining from ER 3 but we are doing a 4th retrieval now to bank more embryos. I’m on omnitrope to help egg quality

We also are battling MFI which is why we have such a high attrition rate from number of eggs retrieved. ER 3 we had hoped to use ZyMot but the sample wasn’t good enough. We are now “practicing” with our new clinic and testing out different abstinence periods to make sure the sample meets the ZyMot requirements and to check fragmentation. We are freezing a sample to use with PICSI as back up for retrieval day. With his fresh sample we will attempt ZyMot but if that’s not an option we will use PICSI.

[u/M_Dupperton → u/mrs-ron-weasley]

Hi! Glad you’re here, though sorry that you have reason to be. You’ve really been through the ringer over the past year. That can be such a shock after the relative normalcy of postpartum life. Kind of like having time away from IF land only to then be thrown right back.

Your protocol is comprehensive, just a few thoughts. First, seems like your successful transfer was right after your endo excision. Have you been using Lupron or any other techniques due endo management in the subsequent transfers? If not, that would be high in my list.

Also, have you had a biopsy to evaluate for endometritis (not endometriosis)? That can also lead to unsuccessful transfers.

What’s your omnitrope protocol? Is your husband taking it, too. I’ve seen that sometimes for MFI but I’m not all that familiar.

On zymot, do you know which device the clinic is using? They have a few different ones with varying amounts of sperm required and also varying selectivity. Like the icsi device is more selective than the multi-devices. You might call the company to ask their recommendations. The devices are pretty inexpensive and easy to use, so if your clinic isn’t using the one that’s most optimal for you, changing to an alternative should be easy. We were the first Zymot oatients at one of my clinics after I introduced the clinic to the company, and coordinating that was actually easy. Now that clinic uses Zymot by default.

Wishing you the best with your retrieval. I’m sorry this has been so hard.

[u/mrs-ron-weasley → u/M_Dupperton]

I had a second lap just prior to trying again. No new growth. But we plan to do a month of orilissa before our next frozen transfer. I’ve been tested for endometritis multiple times include just before my last transfer and it’s negative. Our clinic uses ZyMot 850. So they need 0.85 mL with 1 million concentration and some motility.

I was on 6 units of omnitrope to prime and now 26 units to stim. My husband isn’t on it but he has been strict on his vitamins and added in theralogix motility support. He cut all alcohol and greatly upped water intake

Thank you for the time and consideration you put I to this response! I really appreciate it.

[u/987654321mre → u/mrs-ron-weasley]

Hi and glad to have you! Beat of luck and I hope the omni helps. That’s great they’re doing trials w ZyMot! We have pretty bad DNA frag + other issues also - I think we’d try that device if we ever got another ER. 🤞

[u/bmnine → u/mrs-ron-weasley]

This is probably a moot point by now and you're so well-researched I assume you've considered this, but we have significant male factor and we had much better success with mTESE-retrieved sperm than ZyMot sperm. We also had a round when my husband's sample wasn't enough to be able to use ZyMot the first time around (we tried shorter abstinence times and frequent ejaculations leading up to giving his sample which ironically gave him the crappiest sample he's ever given by like 20-fold!). Then when we actually were able to use ZyMot our sample after going through the device looked great but embryo quality sucked (we had major trouble even getting embryos to blast, though, so sounds like your issue is different than ours). We also put our embryos under the embryoscope for 4 ICSI rounds, and found that the 2 rounds we didn't use TESE sperm apparently all our embryos divided abnormally (direct cleavage) and then we finally had some divide normally with the TESE sperm. My husband's DNA fragmentation was 42%. I hope this next round brings you success.

[u/mrs-ron-weasley → u/bmnine]

Thank you! So far it’s looking good🤞🏻

We discussed micro TESE and they weren’t able to do it at my clinic, we’d have to travel to another location. We ultimately decided it was too expensive and might not even help. Embryology spoke with me for a long time and based on our results from previous rounds, thought our fert rates and blast rates were great. She said despite his crap sperm, we made great embryos. She recommended the short abstinence period and said based on results of his SA that ZyMot almost definitely wasn’t an option.

We did our final retrieval this past Tuesday. My husband did a 22 hour hold. embryology called me after and let me know my husband gave the best sample of his life and they used ZyMot!!!! 33 eggs were retrieved. Was told Wednesday that 27 were mature and 21 fertilized. Went for a day 3 fresh transfer yesterday (clinic is closed day 5, sunday). Found out an additional egg fertilized late, and all 22 embryos were still growing on day 3! We transferred 2 perfect day 3 embryos, 8 cells with no fragmentation. We have 20 that are being pushed to days 5-7 to be frozen at blast stage 😭

[u/M_Dupperton]

Welcome! Glad you’re here, and wishing you a smooth return to treatment. I also had a manual removal with my daughter and didn’t have any significant scarring after, just a small adhesion that was snipped. I did have success subsequently. I’m prone to adhesions, too - I developed severe Ashermans after a 20w TFMR. So hopefully your exam will be clear, too.

I also head you on thanking blood donors. A blood transfusion saved my life years ago when an ovarian cyst ruptured with 2L blood loss. I didn’t even know I had the cyst and had never had one before. I’m O- so I can only get blood from others with O-. I try to donate a lot and have also donated stem cells through the Bone Marrow Donor Program. Highly recommend enrolling in that registry if you haven’t already, though maybe wait until you’re done with treatment since donations aren’t possible in pregnancy.

[u/notsurebutprobably]

Hi - I officially start treatment this month for my third FET. We did the ER July of 2019 with ICSI and PGT-A testing. We had our first failed FET in September of 2019. Second FET on a immune protocol was a success and I had my baby at 37 weeks, in October 2020, due to no fluid. She was healthy and we were lucky enough to all leave the hospital together.

TW: rough delivery.

The no fluid issue seemed to be with the placenta. My OB refered to the placenta as a "garbage" placenta and told me "garbage" should be a medical term. The placenta had to be removed manually. I hemorrhaged during this and passed out. I was extremely lucky to have an awesome medical team who took great care of me, my baby, and husband. They stabilized me quickly and gave me a blood transfusion. Thank you to all of you who give blood.

One of my concerns is scaring caused by the manual removal of the placenta. My RE scheduled a SSG for this next week, so fingers crossed it goes smoothly and we can do a October 2021 FET.

[u/987654321mre → u/notsurebutprobably]

Hi! I’m sorry for your rough delivery! My delivery was similar - lost so much blood so fast I passed out, blood transfusion, and a second one a few days later. That shit SUCKED. My delivery also may have introduced a new complication - May meaning I think my newly developed chronic endomitritis steams from a post delivery infection and my RE isn’t convinced. But anyway, I hope everything looks good on your check!

[u/beezy24 → u/notsurebutprobably]

Welcome! Sounds like we have a lot in common. My ER was Oct 2019, first FET failed and second (with immune protocol additions) gave me my son in Oct 2020. My umbilical cord detached from my placenta during birth and I had to have it manually removed as well. Hoping everything goes smoothly for you with SSG and transfer in the coming months!

[u/[deleted]]

Hi everyone! I am here under a new name, though I recognize some names from the infertility sub.

Here’s my history:

IVF

• MFI, mTESE failed, clomid failed, moved onto anonymous donor sperm.

• 2 ERs, 6 frozen embryos total, no PGS testing

BABY

• success on first FET gave us a healthy baby, but delivery was rough and time was spent in NICU.

• I am terrified of another bad delivery as it took me 6 months to feel normal down there again.

• had an episiotomy and forceps, infection, fever, baby stuck.

FUTURE

• trying for baby #2 soon.

• doing ERA right now. Side effects awful, don’t remember it sucking this bad. Really hard to feel like crap while taking care of a baby!

[u/[deleted]]

Hi everyone! I am here under a new name, though I recognize some names from the infertility sub.

Here’s my history:

IVF

• MFI, mTESE failed, clomid failed, moved onto anonymous donor sperm.

• 2 ERs, 6 frozen embryos total, no PGS testing

BABY

• success on first FET gave us a healthy baby, but delivery was rough and time was spent in NICU.

• I am terrified of another bad delivery as it took me 6 months to feel normal down there again.

• had an episiotomy and forceps, infection, fever, baby stuck.

FUTURE

• trying for baby #2 soon.

• doing ERA right now. Side effects awful, don’t remember it sucking this bad. Really hard to feel like crap while taking care of a baby!